Varlokka
Varlokka was a Toa of Psionics. A member of the Toa Jonku until the team's untimely end, she traveled the universe for thousands of years before settling in Yrenta to become its first Toa guardian and eventually its first Turaga. Biography Matoran Varlokka was created as a Ce-Matoran early in the history of the Matoran Universe. She was part of a community of fellow Matoran of Psionics that settled on one of the Southern Islands, near the edge of the universe's civilized region. At one point, Varlokka's people were threatened by Rahi, and they enlisted the aid of a traveling Toa of Iron named Risda to deal with the creatures. Varlokka ended up fighting alongside the Toa. Risda realized she was destined to be a Toa, and brought her to a Suva, where he transferred a portion of his Toa power into her to trigger her transformation. Toa Jonku Now a Toa, Varlokka taken by Risda as an apprentice and companion, and the two of them traveled the universe together for a few years before meeting a Toa of Sonics named Fonosk. The three Toa decided to form a team, and named themselves Toa Jonku, after a term used in Varlokka's homeland to mean 'nomad'. The Toa Jonku traveled the universe for many years, never staying in one location for long, as their name indicated. The team came to an end during the reign of the Barraki, when they were defeated by a large band of rogue deserters from Carapar's army. The deserters had become brigands and threatened a nearby Matoran village. At Risda's insistence, Fonosk and Varlokka fled while he held off the bandits near the village. Fonosk rushed to evacuate the village, and Varlokka was intercepted by brigands and separated from him. Varlokka managed to escape and follow the Toa of Sonics, but she was too late. By the time she made it to the village, it was burnt and the inhabitants had been slaughtered, along with Fonosk, who had made a valiant last stand against the outlaws. Varlokka left the razed village to search for Risda, but failed to find him. She returned briefly to bury Fonosk and the slain Matoran, then began to travel on her own. Ashamed of her failure to save her companions and the villagers, she never returned to her homeland, for Risda was still remembered there, and she could not bear to inform her people of his disappearance and her failure to find him. Fall of the Barraki Varlokka traveled alone for several more millennia, doing what good she could and looking for her old mentor. She gradually became weary of traveling, and was finally considering settling in a particular region when she was recruited by the Brotherhood of Makuta for their preemptive strike against the rebellious Barraki. She did not attend the entire battle on the island on which the League of Six Kingdoms's armies were gathering, and was soon dispatched alongside a Toa of Fire and a Toa of Earth to disband the Barraki military in a small region on the Northern Continent called Yrenta. The Toa spread the word of the League's betrayal to the people of Yrenta, but the news failed to reach the ears of the militia before the battle began. As a result, the population of Yrenta was divided, with the Matoran left unaware of the Barraki's treachery fiercely resisting what they believed was an unlawful rebellion. Those that were informed allied with the Toa and their task force of Rahkshi to defeat the loyalists. It was then that Varlokka met two future Toa: Tanu, a Matoran of Plasma that had long opposed the League and lived as an outlaw, who was considered a folk hero to those that also felt oppressed, and Siok, a Ba-Matoran that had taken up arms against his fellow Matoran for the first time during this battle. The battle ended with a victory for the rebels, and the surviving locals that had remained loyal to the League were informed of their leaders' betrayal and released. Just before the end of the battle, Varlokka used her elemental power to render a Matoran of the Green militia commander named Morok unconscious. She later woke him and was the one to tell him of the Barraki's treachery. Morok expressed horror and remorse for fighting for the League of Six Kingdoms and killing a Matoran during the battle, and Varlokka, Siok, and Tanu comforted him. The Matoran informed her that Yrenta did not have a Toa protector, and with the dissolution of the League, they would need a new guardian. Toa of Yrenta After speaking with Tanu, Morok, and Siok, Varlokka departed to confirm her work against the League was done. She returned the next day with the news that the battle against the Barraki was over, and that she had decided to make Yrenta her new home. In addition to pledging to protect the region, she conspired with Tanu to unite the villages of Yrenta under a new system. The brief war against the Barraki had brought the Matoran together, for even the natives that had fought for the League had quickly repented when they learned the truth, but the League's dissolution had left them leaderless. While each village elected its own leader, Varlokka was given ultimate authority in resolving disputes, which she did to the best of her ability. Serving as a mediator as well as a guardian, she aided Tanu in placating the people of Yrenta during the economic hardship that resulted from the Metru Nui Civil War several centuries after the fall of the Barraki. Following the war's end, Varlokka and several Matoran officials greeted Teskor, the Makuta that had been assigned to oversee that part of the continent. Having heard rumors of the Brotherhood's heavy-handed intervention in Metru Nui, Varlokka and the Matoran were uneasy in Teskor's presence, but once a private dwelling had been constructed for him in the unsettled desert north of Yrenta, the Makuta apparently left the region alone for most of the following millennia. Those years were mostly peaceful, for the villagers were content and Varlokka was able to easily put an end to Rahi threats, with the exception of a particularly bad outbreak in the underground village in the twenty-sixth millennium since her arrival. She also once discovered Zyglak in Yrenta, and spent days alone in the wilderness driving them out. On another occasion, some of Makuta Teskor's Rahkshi were allowed to go feral, and the rogue Makuta-spawn briefly terrorized the Matoran of Yrenta. After putting an end to that threat, Varlokka traveled to the Makuta's lair to confront him. She was forced to fight her way through his overzealous guardians, but upon reaching him she received an apology and a promise to not be so careless in the future. Though she was happy in Yrenta, Varlokka gradually became weary of her lifestyle once again. She eventually realized that the physical stresses of her long career were catching up with her, and that she had passed her prime. Contemplating the future, she predicted that six of her Matoran friends were to become the region's next Toa. Her prediction said that in the near future she would meet her match, and these six Matoran would save her life. This soon came to pass when she was attacked by a pack of mysterious, monstrous Rahi. The beasts bested her, wounding her and breaking her Kanohi, and the Toa of Psionics desperately took shelter in a cave. From there, she broadcast a telepathic signal for help. This message touched the minds of some of the destined Matoran scattered across Yrenta, who came to her rescue, accompanied by the rest of the future Toa. Varlokka was too weak to aid the Matoran, but the villagers discovered how to merge into a Matoran Nui, which defeated the Rahi. Unbeknownst to the Toa and the Matoran, the Rahi were actually an experimental breed trained by Makuta Teskor to assassinate Varlokka, for like his brothers, the Makuta had grown jealous of the reverence the Toa received. The old Toa was brought to the Matoran of Lightning village on stormy Mount Tasle, where she spent two days recovering before rising to take the six Matoran to the Ce-Kini, the temple that had been constructed in the center of the region to honor Varlokka and to house the Suva that held her spare masks. She had since prepared a set of stones in advance, and she withdrew these from the Suva and imbued them with her Toa energy. She then instructed the six Matoran to place the stones back in the Suva. Turaga This act triggered the transformation of the Matoran into the first generation of Toa Yrenta. In turn, Varlokka, having completed her destiny and exhausted her inner Toa energies, became a Turaga. Upon their return to the Lightning village, Turaga Varlokka instructed the new Toa to investigate the unusual Rahi attacks on the system of lightning rods and energy collection nodes that supplied power to the village. The Toa discovered that the same creatures that had nearly killed Varlokka were responsible for coercing local Rahi into this behavior. Confronting them in a cave in the mountain, the Toa were able to drive the mysterious malicious beasts away. After spending a few weeks training them, Varlokka sent the Toa north to question Makuta Teskor on the origin of the strange Rahi. The Toa were forced to fight their way through the Makuta's minions just as Varlokka had long ago, and upon greeting them the Makuta treated them roughly and falsely denied any involvement in the matter. Varlokka decided to have the Toa end the investigation, for the monstrous creatures did not return. Personality and Traits Early in her Toa career, Varokka was content traveling the universe with her teammates. She felt great guilt about the loss of her companions and the village they were attempting to protect, especially her failure to find the fate of her mentor. She traveled alone for many years despite her loneliness, and she was happy to finally find a home in Yrenta. She usually kept her regrets to herself, hiding them under a somewhat lighthearted but not frivolous personality. She did not distance herself from those she protected, and closely befriended many Matoran of Yrenta. Varlokka's armor was gold and blue, as was typical for her element, and she had pale blue eyes. Powers and Abilities As a Ce-Matoran, Varlokka possessed a very minuscule amount of elemental Psionics energy, causing her to be strongly resistant to outside mental influence. This power was increased when she became a Toa, granting her the ability to control psychic energy. This power could be manifested in a variety of ways, including telekinesis, telepathy, mind control, mental blasts, and sensory illusions. Mask and Tools As a Matoran, Varlokka wore a powerless Kanohi Miru in the shape of a Great Miru, and wielded a sword in combat. She later discarded the sword, and upon her becoming a Toa her mask became a Great Kanohi Miru, which gave her the ability to levitate and slow her fall. She also acquired an ornate staff with a large blue and gold head. When she was defeated by the mysterious Rahi, her mask was broken. She briefly had it replaced with an unknown powerless mask, which turn was replaced by an unknown Great Mask just before she turned into a Turaga, which transformed this mask into its Noble form. Her staff also shrunk along with her. Trivia *Though the model of Turaga Varlokka depicts her with a Noble Huna, the type of mask was never specified in the story. Appearances *''Tale of Yrenta'' (First Appearance) *''Wartime Journal of a Toa'' *''Fate of Yrenta'' *''End of Yrenta'' (Appears as a corpse) External Links *Brickshelf Gallery Category:Toa Category:Toa of Psionics Category:Matoran Category:Ce-Matoran Category:Psionics